Life-Light

What is Christmas time about for you? Is it about the buying of things, the giving of gifts because you just have to, and being busy? For me this is what Christmas is about:

Everything was created through him;

nothing—not one thing!—came into being without him.

What came into existence was Life,

and the Life was Light to live by.

The Life-Light blazed out of the darkness;

the darkness couldn't put it out.

The Life-Light was the real thing:

Every person entering Life

he brings into Light.

He was in the world,

the world was there through him,

and yet the world didn't even notice.

He came to his own people,

but they didn't want him.

But whoever did want him,

who believed he was who he claimed

and would do what he said,

He made to be their true selves,

their child-of-God selves.

These are the God-begotten,

not blood-begotten,

not flesh-begotten,

not sex-begotten.

John 1: 3-5, 9-13

Christmas is the time that God re-entered the story of creation! He re-entered the story and made himself like one of us. Jesus became a person and made himself of no reputation and came to serve humanity. This is the story of Christmas for me. Jesus came to restore us to our true selves - children of God. He was not worried about being noticed by the world even though he had created it. He was not worried that people did not notice the creator right in their mist. However for those that did notice, life was given to them again - real, eternal, light filled, life! The reality of being a child of God was realized. We were "saved" from an empty, worried, frustrating life and given one that was about what real life is about - life, service to others, joy! This is the celebration of Christmas for me. God entered the story of humanity to restore it to a place of joy, hope, peace, and love. I hope we all do our part to bring that kingdom to reality each and everyday.

Namaste'

What Have We Become?

I have begin to wonder what we have become as a "Body of Christ?" Have we become what Jesus would want us to be? Have we become so attached to the worlds system of "power over" that we hvae forgotten that Jesus' system is one of "power under?" We have come to think that we must have power over things. We have come to think that we must make sure people "make a decision" for Christ right now. We have come to think that we are some how in control of what will happen now and for eternity. We have lost the power that comes from being a servant to all.

"You've observed how godless rulers throw their weight around, how quickly a little power goes to their heads. It's not going to be that way with you. Whoever wants to be great must become a servant. Whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave. That is what the Son of Man has done: He came to serve, not be served—and then to give away his life in exchange for the many who are held hostage."

Matthew 20:24

How often do we really serve others? How often are willing to exchange our lives for the ones who are held hostage? We have let the world's power go to our heads. We have told ourselves that we can use the system of the world, of the physical, to overcome the sin and evil in this world. We have come to think that we can actually control others and their behaviors through developing a system that is the same as the worlds. We have forgotten that Jesus did not come in this way. Jesus came to love and to serve, never to be served or to change others by force. I love this:

“I slept and dreamt that life was joy. I awoke and saw that life was service. I acted and behold, service was joy.”

Rabindranath Tagore

Jesus came to save the world through his service. Jesus came to save the world through the act of sacrifice of the cross. It was in this act of complete humbleness, complete lack of ego, and a complete selflessness. This gave Christ the ultimate power - through love. Would it be so bad to love those who we think are "different" than us? Would it be so bad to let people struggle in our mist and struggle along with them? Would it be so bad to let people know that they are loved and invite them into a conversation about spirituality and God? Would we find joy in our service? Jesus did and it seems to have turned out just fine.

Namaste'

Light

We have only one purpose in this life, to love. This purpose can take many forms - pastor, counselor, doctor, administrative assistant, teacher, bank teller, cashier, etc. - but the purpose is still the same. This is where we misunderstand what Jesus means by kingdom. We seem to have become obsessed with some kind of power that comes from political or educational solutions as Christians. We have come to take on the form of the world and its form of power - "power over." Christians have come to think that we can convert enough people, change enough laws, and tell enough people that their behavior is wrong, we can have a kingdom on this earth. We forget what we have read and been taught:

This, in essence, is the message we heard from Christ and are passing on to you: God is light, pure light; there's not a trace of darkness in him.
If we claim that we experience a shared life with him and continue to stumble around in the dark, we're obviously lying through our teeth—we're not living what we claim. But if we walk in the light, God himself being the light, we also experience a shared life with one another, as the sacrificed blood of Jesus, God's Son, purges all our sin.

I John 1: 5-7

Anyone who claims to live in God's light and hates a brother or sister is still in the dark. It's the person who loves brother and sister who dwells in God's light and doesn't block the light from others. But whoever hates is still in the dark, stumbles around in the dark, doesn't know which end is up, blinded by the darkness.

I John 2: 9-11

"Love is our highest calling and the synonym for God." We have forgotten that the cross is the example of what it means to be a Christian. We are to be servants of all those around us - no matter who they are or what "sin" they seem to be in. It does not matter if it is a prostitute that would like to wash our feet with her hair, an adulterous that had just been caught, a tax collector who had stolen from his friends, or even a thief that was dying right next to us - we are called to love. This is the light of the community of people who follow the way of the Master they call Jesus. This is the life that Jesus taught us - a life of love. This is the light that we offer everyone who needs light in their life. All those people we want to change do not see light in our frustration to change them. These people can only see light when they are loved. Jesus' kingdom is one that brings the light of love to everyone we come in contact with. This is not about establishing a kingdom that makes people follow God, but one that allows people to choose to follow God because they have encountered love.

Love today. Be kind. Be light.

Namaste'

Your Glasses are on Backwards

I love this phrase. It comes out of the Big Book of AA. It tells of a story of someone who started to not like the meetings. They told of how they hated the stories that were told, the coffee that was made, the speakers that spoke, and the double lives of the people that were there. They write about how their recovery began to suffer until they were told something that impacted them beyond measure. "You have your glasses on backwards." They were told to turn their view of life and the meetings around. They told of how they were confronted about how easily they had gone from a focus on the positive to a focus on the negative. This change their recovery and they started moving forward again.
I know I just went through a time like this in my life. My glasses were on backwards. I was focusing on the negative, what I did not like, what was frustrating me. I needed to remember what is going beautifully, right, and wonderful. I forgot this:

So don't lose a minute in building on what you've been given, complementing your basic faith with good character, spiritual understanding, alert discipline, passionate patience, reverent wonder, warm friendliness, and generous love, each dimension fitting into and developing the others. With these qualities active and growing in your lives, no grass will grow under your feet, no day will pass without its reward as you mature in your experience of our Master Jesus. Without these qualities you can't see what's right before you, oblivious that your old sinful life has been wiped off the books.
So, friends, confirm God's invitation to you, his choice of you. Don't put it off; do it now. Do this, and you'll have your life on a firm footing, the streets paved and the way wide open into the eternal kingdom of our Master and Savior, Jesus Christ.

2 Peter 1:5-11

This is having my/our glasses on the "right" way. We need to remember that we need to live our lives with all the qualities that are listed in this passage. When we do not we miss out on so much of the rewards of living. Just like the person in the Big Book story, we miss out on all of the rewards that are being offered everytime we wake up and live our life because we are focused on what we think should be different. We forget that God has an open, standing invitation to us - all the time - we are never seperated from God. We only are seperated in our mind and in what we focus and place our attention on. I know that when I focus on how I treat others, being kind, being passionately patient, living in wonder and awe, and loving all people and situations I come into contact with - my life is so full of God's goodness I do not remember anything about that "sinful" life.

Today remember that you have an open invitation to be with God in every moment. Remember that the more your focus on love, kindness, and patience in your interactions with others the more you reap the rewards that God and this life offers you right now. Your glasses are on backwards - turn them around!

Namaste'

Called

We are called to a life that is free. You are free to pursue your passions and desires. God has placed them inside of you for that reason - you have been called to act them out! The best way to act out your calling is to simply love others. If you can be kind and simply love others, your calling and the way to live it out, act it out, becomes clear.

It is absolutely clear that God has called you to a free life. Just make sure that you don't use this freedom as an excuse to do whatever you want to do and destroy your freedom. Rather, use your freedom to serve one another in love; that's how freedom grows. For everything we know about God's Word is summed up in a single sentence: Love others as you love yourself. That's an act of true freedom. If you bite and ravage each other, watch out—in no time at all you will be annihilating each other, and where will your precious freedom be then?

Galatians 5:13-15

What you are called to, your passion and your desires, become truly evident when we follow the simple sentence that sums up God's word! However, if we are going to be angry, frustrated, focus on what makes us upset, and make decisions to annihilate and resent other people, our desire will be hidden from us! We find freedom in the service and loving of others. We find freedom in giving our lives away for the good of others. We find freedom in loving others just like we would like to be loved.

We find a prison in any attempt to control, hate, be angry, frustrated and push others out of our lives. We take a freedom and we make it null and void because we refuse to act on the law of God to love others. Our anger, our resentment, our unforgiveness, our worry keeps the desires and passion God has given us hidden from our view. We feel annihilated ourselves, disconnect, and depressed.

Simply love today. If you want to find your calling and you want to know what your desires and passions are that God has given you then just love others. See if clarity does not come upon your eyes and your mind. See if what God has for you becomes so clear that there is no way to resist the calling. Live this today (it is one of my favorite quotes):

“By believing passionately in something that still does not exist, we create it. The nonexistent is whatever we have not sufficiently desired."

Namaste'

Quiet Life

Live a quiet life. When you read this what comes to mind? What does this mean? I wonder how often we live a life that is quiet?

Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody.

1 Thessalonians 4:11-12

A quiet life is one that if lived without interfering with others. A life that is marked by patience, kindness, love, and humility. I think about it so much so that people may not even notice that we are around, or a part of the landscape. This is the way that we "win the respect" of people who do not know or understand God or a spiritual life. We quietly and with non-interference (there is a post on that here) serve others and allow God to work. This should be the presence we have in the world as "Christians." We serve and love others and they are attracted to Jesus as we lift him up by our service to our master by following His way.

Most of the time we are not this way, quiet. We spend our time attempting to convince, control, manage other people's lives. We become angry, upset, and frustrated because we have to change it all right now. We are not living a quiet life. It is a life that is loud, interfering, and frustrating. We win no respect from others, we lose it. We do not get to influence others, we lose all chance to do so. Christian actually comes to mean someone judgemental, unaccepting, unloving, and unkind. Is Jesus lifted up by living life out loud?

Today just try it on. Live a quiet life. Serve others. Win their respect. Humble yourself.

Namaste'

Desire

Do we hear the good news? Do we understand what the good news is? Do we understand what happens if we really hear, accept, and understand the good news? The good news is the message of the kingdom, the kingdom of God, but not the kingdom as we might think about it. The kingdom is knowing that we are loved, accepted, and cared for by the Creator. This includes that we been given dreams and desires that are from that Creator. God wants us to follow those dreams and desires, to make them real, to live beyond our wildest dreams.

At about that same time Jesus left the house and sat on the beach. In no time at all a crowd gathered along the shoreline, forcing him to get into a boat. Using the boat as a pulpit, he addressed his congregation, telling stories.
"What do you make of this? A farmer planted seed. As he scattered the seed, some of it fell on the road, and birds ate it. Some fell in the gravel; it sprouted quickly but didn't put down roots, so when the sun came up it withered just as quickly. Some fell in the weeds; as it came up, it was strangled by the weeds. Some fell on good earth, and produced a harvest beyond his wildest dreams.

Matthew 13:1-8

So where does the seed, the Good News, of Jesus land with you? Does it fall on the road, the gravel, or in the weeds? Do your desires get eaten up, burned up, or choked out? What I mean, is do you have these dreams and desires that God has given you to live and these dreams and desires get killed by something? We all have a tendency to get caught up in what we think are the "right" things to do and this chokes out the dream. We get worried about being good fathers, mothers, providers, financial concerns, making sure things are safe for ourselves and familes, and that we can be sure we are doing well. This leads to a choking, burning, eating of the dreams that God has given us. We begin to do the same things everyday - wake up, eat, work, care the kids, watch television, think about doing it again the next day, sleep and get up and do it all again! Desire leaves us and we live our life in a mundane, worried, and bored state.

We need to let the Good News be planted in our lives to give us confidence. We need to be "good earth." If we are, we can believe that Jesus came to do what he said:

"I'll be explicit, then. I am the Gate for the sheep. All those others are up to no good—sheep stealers, every one of them. But the sheep didn't listen to them. I am the Gate. Anyone who goes through me will be cared for—will freely go in and out, and find pasture. A thief is only there to steal and kill and destroy. I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of.

John 10:6-10

So do we belive that we will be cared for? If we truly follow Jesus, if we truly hear the good news, and if we truly go through the gate, then we will have a life that is better than we could ever dream of! Do not let the desires and dreams of your heart, that God has scattered there, die! The kingdom of God is within you! (See post on Revolution) We bring the kingdom of God to earth, not an earthly kingdom as we would think, but a kingdom that brings joy, peace, love, and kindness to people. This only comes by not letting our desires die. Live your desires today. Do not get caught up in the mundane of the world. Give your dreams and your desires some water. Weed those dreams and protect them from the sun. Let them flurish and bring the good news to everyone. Live!

Namaste'

Wisdom

We all work so hard for wisdom. Wisdom can be defined as the ability to discern or judge what is true, right, or lasting, it is insight. Wisdom comes through being humble. Wisdom comes through not acting like we know the answers to everything. Wisdom is making ourselves the humble servant of our Master.

Do you want to be counted wise, to build a reputation for wisdom? Here's what you do: Live well, live wisely, live humbly. It's the way you live, not the way you talk, that counts. Mean-spirited ambition isn't wisdom. Boasting that you are wise isn't wisdom. Twisting the truth to make yourselves sound wise isn't wisdom. It's the furthest thing from wisdom—it's animal cunning, devilish conniving. Whenever you're trying to look better than others or get the better of others, things fall apart and everyone ends up at the others' throats.

James 3:13-14

Wisdom is actually the act of humbling ourselves and not being right, but being kind. Wisdom is knowing that living life has nothing to do with what you say, but the way that you live and act. To push our way to the top, to make others think we know more than we do, and to boast about what we do know is not wisdom. Think about the way that Jesus lived and taught us to live. He was humble always giving way to the people around him, never pushing himself on anyone. Jesus lived a life that was an example for us to follow in the way of wisdom. Even at the moment that he could have proved who is was - he hung on the cross and said "forgive them for they do not know what they are doing." What wisdom!

Namaste'

Revolution

What would happen if we all lived as a "mini Jesus?" Would there be a revolution? What would happen if we stop worrying about the things that pharisees, essenes, and zealots do? What would happen if we actually left those tribes and become a whole new tribe that Jesus began? I know we think that we are, but really are we? (If you are confused you need to go back and read the last four (4) post.) We all have elements of these tribal, spiritual sects living in our way of thinking, feelings, behaving.

What if we could become a new kind of Christian? What if we really accepted that Jesus was our Master and we actually lived in the way that He was teaching and is teaching? What would happen if we really did have a revolutionary way of living? Would there, could there be a revolution of life? Could God's kingdom happen right here and right now?

Once, having been asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, "The kingdom of God does not come with your careful observation, nor will people say, 'Here it is,' or 'There it is,' because the kingdom of God is within you."

Luke 17:20-21 (NIV)

Jesus, grilled by the Pharisees on when the kingdom of God would come, answered, "The kingdom of God doesn't come by counting the days on the calendar. Nor when someone says, 'Look here!' or, 'There it is!' And why? Because God's kingdom is already among you."

Luke 17:20-21 (The Message)

You see the kingdom of God does not come because we overthrow the kingdoms of earth by force, or make sure we that everyone is holy enough, or because we seperate ourselves from this world and live in our own little commune and wait for the kingdom to come one day. No, the kingdom of God is already living in every one of us who claim that we are Christ followers. We hold the kingdom, through the help of the Holy Spirit, to live the way of Jesus. The follow our Master's teaching and bring love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23) into the world that is in desperate need of them. This does not come by force, but by loving, caring, kind, compassionate action with everyone we come into contact with.

Oh how the world would change if we could lay down being right for the cause of being kind. How the world would change if we truly treat Jesus as Master and we do what the Master says each and everyday in every interaction. Oh how we could usher in the kingdom of God with a revolution of love, of the One True God!

Namaste'

Zealots

The Zealots were a Jewish political movement in the 1st century which sought to incite the people to rebel against the Roman Empire and expel it from the country by force of arms. The Zealots continued to oppose the Romans due to Rome's intolerance of their culture and on the grounds that Israel belonged only to a Jewish king descended from King David. They believed that there should be some type of hostile takover of the goverment to make sure that their religion was supreme. The Zealots objected to Roman rule and sought violently to eradicate it; Zealots engaged in violence. They raided Jewish habitations and killed Jews they considered collaborators, while also urging Jews to fight Romans and other Jews for the cause.
I wonder if this sounds like any of the "Christian" sects today? How many people want to overthrow the govermental rule that they see as too liberal, unchristian, and/or ungodly? How many fights and discussion has there been because we need to restore this nation back to being a Christian nation? What was Jesus' reaction to the Zealots? Did he join them in this attempt to overthrow the goverment? The Zealots where expecting the Messiah to be a king, a person who would come back and overthrow the unholy reign of the Romans and re-establish the rule of the Jews. Jesus did not do that. Actually he taught the opposite:

"You're familiar with the old written law, 'Love your friend,' and its unwritten companion, 'Hate your enemy.' I'm challenging that. I'm telling you to love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst. When someone gives you a hard time, respond with the energies of prayer, for then you are working out of your true selves, your God-created selves. This is what God does. He gives his best—the sun to warm and the rain to nourish—to everyone, regardless: the good and bad, the nice and nasty. If all you do is love the lovable, do you expect a bonus? Anybody can do that. If you simply say hello to those who greet you, do you expect a medal? Any run-of-the-mill sinner does that.

Matthew 5:43-47

And Paul (a one time pharisee) wrote and taught this:

Our Scriptures tell us that if you see your enemy hungry, go buy that person lunch, or if he's thirsty, get him a drink. Your generosity will surprise him with goodness. Don't let evil get the best of you; get the best of evil by doing good.

Romans 12:20-21

So any Zealot in me? If I was really going to follow the way of Jesus, what it really mean to be a Christian? How do I really over come the world? What is the real power that I hold? I believe that the real power that Jesus holds and held was the tremendous power of good, kindness, and peace. It was a revolution, but not the kind the Zealots where looking for. This is the real power we have today as followers of Christ, Christians. To bring goodness, kindness, grace - salt and light - into this world of evil. This is a revolution that will overcome anything evil. It is not to join the evil in acts of violence, but to overcome it with acts of love.

Today overcome all the challanges you may face with acts of love, kindness, and compassion. Become aware of the awesome, tremendous power you have as you live as Christ.

Namaste'

Pharisee

Pharisees believed that all Jews had to observe the purity laws. They held to a strict code of the laws and insisted on purity because they believe that the evil of the world they were living in was holding back the coming of the Messiah. The Pharisees were considered the most expert and accurate expositors of Jewish law. Fundamentally, the Pharisees continued a form of Judaism that extended beyond the Temple, applying Jewish law to mundane activities in order to sanctify the every-day world.
At some level they believed that if they could somehow sanctify the everyday world, all the evil people and things, the messiah would come quickly and rescue them from the Roman rule. When Jesus shows up and starts breaking all their rules, of course there is no way that Jesus could be the Holy King that they were looking for. Jesus was more concerned about people and their hearts, not the sanctification of their behavior. Jesus often had the recorded "run ins" with the pharisees.

One Sabbath, Jesus was strolling with his disciples through a field of ripe grain. Hungry, the disciples were pulling off the heads of grain and munching on them. Some Pharisees reported them to Jesus: "Your disciples are breaking the Sabbath rules!"
Jesus said, "Really? Didn't you ever read what David and his companions did when they were hungry, how they entered the sanctuary and ate fresh bread off the altar, bread that no one but priests were allowed to eat? And didn't you ever read in God's Law that priests carrying out their Temple duties break Sabbath rules all the time and it's not held against them?
"There is far more at stake here than religion. If you had any idea what this Scripture meant—'I prefer a flexible heart to an inflexible ritual'—you wouldn't be nitpicking like this. The Son of Man is no lackey to the Sabbath; he's in charge."
When Jesus left the field, he entered their meeting place. There was a man there with a crippled hand. They said to Jesus, "Is it legal to heal on the Sabbath?" They were baiting him.
He replied, "Is there a person here who, finding one of your lambs fallen into a ravine, wouldn't, even though it was a Sabbath, pull it out? Surely kindness to people is as legal as kindness to animals!" Then he said to the man, "Hold out your hand." He held it out and it was healed. The Pharisees walked out furious, sputtering about how they were going to ruin Jesus.

Matthew 12:1-14

So I have to ask myself, "Am I a pharisee in some way?" Are there times that we get so caught up in the "rules of religion" that we forget about matters of the heart? We forget that meeting someone else's need is more important that being worried about if they are following the right rules, or participating in the right behavior as we see it. Do we, like pharisees, worry more about being right than we do about being kind? Jesus did not join the pharisees in their quest to make everything holy by the rules of religion. I wonder how individuals, groups, and churches that claim to be followers of Christ do much the same as the pharisees and leave people in their lives with all their needs exposed to fend for themselves until they can get it "right." Really I wonder how often this happens?

I am sure that people with needs that we can tolerate we help. I am also sure that people with needs that we think go against all the rules we shun and tell them they are not welcomed until they change. I know we never use these words but our actions speak it loud and clear to those looking to be fed when they are hungry.

Today challange yourself to see how parts of your thinking, your actions, your beliefs would be like a pharisee. Think about how Jesus would react and respond to that behavior or thought that you have. Be kind today rather than right.

Namaste'

Essenes

I will be writing about my last post on "What does it mean to be a Christian" in more detail for the next few days. I will be discussing the groups that Jesus encountered in the world and why he did not become a part of their tribe. The challange will be to see how we as a Christian community actually have become one of these three ourselves - personally and corporately.


The first group is the Essenes. Essenes where a Jewish religous group that was flourishing about the time of Jesus and the Roman empire. They lead a life that was seperate from the rest of the world. They belived in a life that was not lived as a part of this world. They attempted to live seperate from the Jewish establishment at the time and the Roman Empire. They did not want to overthrow the Roman Empire, nor did they want to join with it. They kept themselves seperate waiting for the Messiah. The Essenes have gained fame in modern times as a result of the discovery of an extensive group of religious documents known as the Dead Sea Scrolls, commonly believed to be their library. These documents include preserved multiple copies of the Hebrew Bible untouched from as early as 300 BC until their discovery in 1946.



What makes this important? I wanted everyone to think about we ourselves may be like Essenes. We seperate ourselves from the world. We like to hide out in the cave of church where we think it safe and keep the scriptures, the bible, the wisdom in it to ourselves. We use words that someone from the outside would never understand, and we never venture out to get to know anyone, and we are just holding on until "Jesus comes." We are not in this world to make a difference, but just hope that God will save us from this evil world and rescue us to heaven in the near future. We do not think that we will be able to make a difference. We think that no act of kindness or love will really make a difference to anyone, so we do not try. We huddle together in church, only speak to church people, and keep ourselves under the illusion that we are important.

Then Jesus entered and walked through Jericho. There was a man there, his name Zacchaeus, the head tax man and quite rich. He wanted desperately to see Jesus, but the crowd was in his way—he was a short man and couldn't see over the crowd. So he ran on ahead and climbed up in a sycamore tree so he could see Jesus when he came by.
When Jesus got to the tree, he looked up and said, "Zacchaeus, hurry down. Today is my day to be a guest in your home." Zacchaeus scrambled out of the tree, hardly believing his good luck, delighted to take Jesus home with him. Everyone who saw the incident was indignant and grumped, "What business does he have getting cozy with this crook?"

Luke 19: 1-7

Jesus did not isolate himself from some evil world. He actually made himself a part of the world around him. He was "getting cozy with this crook." Jesus went out and actually interacted with this sinful, evil world, and saw the beauty in it. He brought grace to those that were in desperate need of it. He brought love and acceptance to those that were desperately looking for it. He helped people become a part of God's story again! He helped people realize that they had forgotten whose they were and who had made them! The only way to do this was to interact with the world, make friends with people that needed him, and let them know by his actions that they were needed and loved.

So do we have any Essenes within ourselves? We want to live a life seperated, isolated from the world. We want to keep this amazing grace and love secret because we could not defile ourselves, it would not make a difference anyway. This world is so evil. How often do you/we want to live away from the "evils" of this world. We isolate our children from situations and ideas that are God's but they grow up thinking that those ideas and God are two totally seperate things. We think that you have to believe one and discount the other. We wonder why our young people have such a hard time when they go to college being able to integrate their faith into what they learn. We isolate ourselves. We become irrelavant to the culture around us because we refuse to understand it and interact with it. We just want to sit back and wait for the day Jesus comes and saves us.

Do not isolate yourself anymore if you have some Essene in you. Begin to get involved in the story of other people's lives and see that God is actively involved in their lives too, they just need someone to point them in the right direction. They just need someone to love them and believe in them. They just need to be shown what grace truly means. Begin to have conversations with people, they are spiritually hungry and desperately looking for God.

Namaste'

What Does it Mean to be a Christian?

For me what it means to be a Christian is simple. Yet it can be very complicated if you are stuck to using old definitions or looking at things in the same way we have for the last 100 years. Simply put being a Christian means that a person is following in the way of his Master – Jesus. I use these words on purpose. It is always how I have seen my spiritual and Christian life. I have decided that Jesus in the Master I am choosing to lead me on the path to God and find meaning in my life. There are many choices, but I have decided to choose Jesus as the way, the truth, and the life. Jesus must be my Master and I his disciple, much like I would have a Master, a Sensei, or a teacher to help school me in the way of karate, playing the guitar, or my chosen career field. Jesus teaches me the way to live my life. As I live and practice the life Jesus teaches me I become more and more of an expert and I begin to teach this to others who want to walk and live their life in the way of Jesus. Today we use words like discipleship or spiritual formation, but in short I would help someone live a life in a manner that God had created them for. As they lived their life in the way of Jesus (as they become disciples in this way) they too would experience joy and peace from God their creator.

Jesus, undeterred, went right ahead and gave his charge: "God authorized and commanded me to commission you: Go out and train everyone you meet, far and near, in this way of life, marking them by baptism in the threefold name: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Then instruct them in the practice of all I have commanded you. I'll be with you as you do this, day after day after day, right up to the end of the age."

Matthew 28:18-20

Being a Christian means that I see Jesus as my Master in life. Not in the sense that I am a slave bound to a life of servitude, but I have chosen this master because I believe his ways are the ways that lead me to a life in God. I want Jesus to teach me, I do bow to his authority as a Master Teacher, and I submit myself to doing the things he calls me to, whether they make sense or not to me. A slave is brought along unwillingly and begrudgingly does his duties so that he will not be punished or hurt by his master. Willingly submitting to my chosen master is a daily, sometimes moment by moment decision that I take seriously. It effects every interaction I have with others, every thought I have, every decision that I make, and is a life that is lived on a conscious level rather than an unconscious level. I have not chosen this master only to get my “ticket” stamped “accepted” so that I no longer have to worry about how I interact, think, or decide how to live my life. That would cheapen and void the grace that I was given that allowed me to pick Jesus as my master that I did not deserve. It means that I do not concern myself with looking good on the outside and making sure that I “do” right behaviors, but that I am totally immersed in issues of my heart.

Jesus replied, "You, too? Are you being willfully stupid? Don't you know that anything that is swallowed works its way through the intestines and is finally defecated? But what comes out of the mouth gets its start in the heart. It's from the heart that we vomit up evil arguments, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, lies, and cussing. That's what pollutes. Eating or not eating certain foods, washing or not washing your hands—that's neither here nor there."

Matthew 15:16-20

This gets me to exactly what is the way that the master is teaching me? Jesus’ way was one that did not join any tribe, clan, or presupposed action. Jesus did not join in with the Pharisees, the Zealots, the Essenes, or anyone else that thought they knew what “Messiah” would look like. He was also not a “Christian.” There were no such terms for him when he lived, he was not even known as the Christ. There were just people who chose to follow his way of living. The way of Jesus went against every way that people thought would be the way. His was not to get along with the Romans, or to take them over by force, or to avoid the world altogether and hope they would go away. Jesus’ way was one of kindness, compassion, love, grace, creativity, and expansiveness that brought a power that no one was expecting. He was kind to people who the Pharisee thought were the very people holding up the coming of God’s king because of their sin. (John 8:2-4) He called for peace and love, not joining in with the anger of others, and attempting to overcome by force. (Matthew 5: 38-40) He was active and involved in all matters in his community, never avoiding the chance to bring others into the story of God. (Luke 19:4-10)

So to be a Christian is to be a follower of this way. It is for me to be a diligent learner, a disciple, of the way that Jesus lived and replicate it to the best that God empowers me to. To be a person that brings peace, love, light, and salt to the world around me through each interaction I have with others, the things that I think, and the decisions that I make. It is to become a “little Christ” - a Mini Me of Christ if you will. In doing this others will be attracted to Jesus, God, because Jesus is lifted up in this way. Others will want to be a part of such a great and glorious story and they do will ask Jesus to be their teacher, their master, their Lord. They will learn, have a formation in, the way of Jesus through others who have gone before them. This process continues until the world has been redeemed through the way of Jesus. Jesus’ revolution, his kingdom, comes to earth right here and right now.

Namaste'

Nourishment

Were do you get your spiritual nourishment from? Could it be from being kind to one another and drinking in the kindness of God? Could it have nothing at all to do with anger, evil, or violence of any kind? How do we really bring the kingdom of God to this earth?

So get rid of all evil behavior. Be done with all deceit, hypocrisy, jealousy, and all unkind speech. Like newborn babies, you must crave pure spiritual milk so that you will grow into a full experience of salvation. Cry out for this nourishment, now that you have had a taste of the Lord’s kindness.

I Peter 1:2-3

Could it be that when we are filled with thoughts of anger, wanting to hurt others, jealousy, and bitterness that we have not truly had an full expereince of salvation? Could it be that salvation includes so much more than "making it to heaven" and getting my pass through the "pearly gates" stamped accepted? Could it be that the experience is an ongoing transformative experience, not a one time one prayer fits all experience?

Sure we get to go to heaven. Sure we get to be with Christ when we pass from this life to the next, but how does that impact us right here and right now? How does our salvation truly impact the world right here and right now? If we get salvation as a one time experience and it never changes us into people who live out the kindness of God - what good is it really?

Cry out and begin to get the nourishment of God. Search for it, drink it in, and let it change the way you live everyday. Do more than just make sure you got your ticket stamped "accepted." Live, breath, and drink in the way of the master, the way of Jesus. Act it out with each person you meet in each day you have. Imagine a world where the people who call themselves Christian are not really worried about this title. Instead they are worred about being Christ-like, full of kindness as their God. They no longer have violent thoughts, jealousy, anger, worry, or evil thoughts and acts. Would not the kingdom of God become real in this life if we truly received our nourishment from the source of our creation? And that is the problem - we all think that we are separate from God and we just have to wait until that day....... Do we really or are we really connected to the living God through the gift of Christ? If we are then nourishment is available to us to turn us into the living kindness of God to others.

Namaste'

View

How do you view the world? I spend a lot of time in my sessions talking to people about their "view" of the world around them. Many times couples see the exact same behavior, but take it to mean two totally different things. The way that you view the world comes from how you think and what is inside your heart and mind. So what is there? Is it the kingdom of God that is there, that informs your view of the world around you?

"You're blessed when you care. At the moment of being 'care-full,' you find yourselves cared for.
"You're blessed when you get your inside world—your mind and heart—put right. Then you can see God in the outside world.
"You're blessed when you can show people how to cooperate instead of compete or fight. That's when you discover who you really are, and your place in God's family."

Matthew 5:7-9

I hope that we all get our inside world right. I hope that we all do not worry so much about being a Christian as much as we do about being Christ-like. I hope that we all do not worry so much about being cared for, but caring for others. I hope we all do not worry so much about being served, but serving. I hope that we all do not worry so much about being right, but being kind. I hope we all do not worry so much about being right, but being kind with cooperation. This is when we will discover who we really are.

Namaste'

Spiritual Maturity

What is this? I mean spiritual maturity, that is reserved for the giants of our faith right? "It is such an awesome thing to think that I could ever reach that." "That will never happen for me." "That is reserved for people who have time for that kind of thing." These are just a few of the things we think about when the words "spiritual maturity" is thrown around. It is some impossible goal out there somewhere beyond our reach. However, the reality of being spiritually mature is right there for the taking. Do I think that any of us will ever reach perfection in this area, one day becoming completely mature - of course not! Jesus told us the way, the path, and it is a simple way to follow each and everyday.

Jesus said, "The first in importance is, 'Listen, Israel: The Lord your God is one; so love the Lord God with all your passion and prayer and intelligence and energy.' And here is the second: 'Love others as well as you love yourself.' There is no other commandment that ranks with these."
The religion scholar said, "A wonderful answer, Teacher! So lucid and accurate—that God is one and there is no other. And loving him with all passion and intelligence and energy, and loving others as well as you love yourself. Why, that's better than all offerings and sacrifices put together!"
When Jesus realized how insightful he was, he said, "You're almost there, right on the border of God's kingdom."

Mark 12:29-34

There is no other commandment other than these. What would be the consequence of following just these two commandments? Would you worry about your life? Would you be tempted to look at that porn? Would you be angry with the people around you? Would you be concerned about your ego and how it was hurt? Would you be able to understand the hurt and pain of others, you family, and listen to and comfort them? What would be the consequence of knowing these and living these commandments? Would it place you right at the border of God's kingdom? I think it would and it does. If I am consumed with these two commands, all the others are followed without even having to think about them. Read this:

So don't lose a minute in building on what you've been given, complementing your basic faith with good character, spiritual understanding, alert discipline, passionate patience, reverent wonder, warm friendliness, and generous love, each dimension fitting into and developing the others. With these qualities active and growing in your lives, no grass will grow under your feet, no day will pass without its reward as you mature in your experience of our Master Jesus. Without these qualities you can't see what's right before you, oblivious that your old sinful life has been wiped off the books.

2 Peter 1:3-9

Spiritual maturity is understanding that we all have imperfections. Spiritual maturity is understand that I do not have to "fix" you. Spiritual maturity is allowing God to do that and me to just love you. Spiritual maturity is allowing God to be the one who is in control, not thinking that I am doing something for God. Spiritual maturity is knowing God so well I cannot help but live like God. Spiritual maturity is knowing God so well that nothing can flow out of me except God in love, actions, compassion, kindness, hope, faith, creativity, passion, awe, friendliness, patience, understanding, and peace. If this is done I cannot help but love my neighbor, not matter who that may be - "christian" or not. If this is done how would I fall into anger, bitterness, frustration, depression, anxiety, etc?

Today, just love God and others. Get to know God and stop worrying about if you are "sinning" or not. Get to know God and as you do begin to act like what you know about God. Watch how spiriutality mature you can become. Perfect? Never, but you can expereince the kingdom of God now.

Namaste'

Vigorous

Vigorous - Strong, energetic, and active in mind or body; robust. This is faith - vigorous. It takes energy. It takes being active with mind and body. It takes confidence to engage God. This is the way.

Put your mind on your life with God. The way to life—to God!—is vigorous and requires your total attention. A lot of you are going to assume that you'll sit down to God's salvation banquet just because you've been hanging around the neighborhood all your lives.

Luke 13:24-25

We can't just "hang out" and think that will get us to God. Life with God is active, energetic, and mark with fullness. The way to life and to God is active with practices of daily living. It is more than a prayer and a chair on Sunday. It is an active, day to day, practical, living out of the teachings, the way, of Jesus. We cannot just hang out and watch people do this. We cannot just be a passage observer of people who actually follow the way. We ourselves must be vigorous in following the way.

So today do not just sit by and hang out, be vigorous in your life. Give your spiritual life, the way of God, total attention. How are you going to make the next decision? How are you going to treat your family and coworkers today? How are you going to be with that total stranger who is angry and pushy with you? Get in the story of life and be active and healthy.

Namaste'

Purpose Driven

What is your life purpose? What is the reason that you are here on this earth? What are you here to do and accomplish? I heard a speaker say once that he read the novel The Death of Ivan Ilyich. At the end of the novel the man is on his death bed and looks up at his wife and says to her, "Maybe I did not live as I ought to have done." I would hate to get to that place in my life and feel regret. What is your intention? My intention is to do the following with my life:

Don't lie to one another. You're done with that old life. It's like a filthy set of ill-fitting clothes you've stripped off and put in the fire. Now you're dressed in a new wardrobe. Every item of your new way of life is custom-made by the Creator, with his label on it. All the old fashions are now obsolete. Words like Jewish and non-Jewish, religious and irreligious, insider and outsider, uncivilized and uncouth, slave and free, mean nothing. From now on everyone is defined by Christ, everyone is included in Christ.
So, chosen by God for this new life of love, dress in the wardrobe God picked out for you: compassion, kindness, humility, quiet strength, discipline. Be even-tempered, content with second place, quick to forgive an offense. Forgive as quickly and completely as the Master forgave you. And regardless of what else you put on, wear love. It's your basic, all-purpose garment. Never be without it.

Colossians 3:9-14

I am done with that old life. Are you going to be done with that old life? This life is one of pleasing others, being worried about things, and being driven by worries and fears. It was a life that was driven by certain names, teams, and tribes. It was a life that was full of exclusion and fighting about what was right and wrong. I am done with that. I am going to live my life, as best as I can, with all the purpose and intention, to live with "compassion, kindness, humility, quiet strength, discipline. Be even-tempered, content with second place, quick to forgive an offense. Forgive as quickly and completely as the Master forgave," with love being the most important garment. This is my purpose, my intention. To love all, serve all, and to allow all to find their way to God. God is calling them I will allow God to do what God does and try to not get in the way.

What is your purpose? Do not die with it still in you. Do not lie on your bed wondering if you did it all wrong. Do not ignore that still small voice in your heart and mind that calls to you, but you quiet it like a little annoying child because of your own fear. Joy and peace are calling to you. Excitement is calling to you. God is calling you there - listen.

Namaste'

Imperfections

We all have imperfections. I know we do not like to think about that, but we do. We all like to be frustrated with the imperfections of others. We tend to shy away from those individuals who we think have some kind of imperfection that we do not like, that would not make them a part of our tribe, christian. We even shun them at times.

Live creatively, friends. If someone falls into sin, forgivingly restore him, saving your critical comments for yourself. You might be needing forgiveness before the day's out. Stoop down and reach out to those who are oppressed. Share their burdens, and so complete Christ's law. If you think you are too good for that, you are badly deceived.

Galatians 6:1-3

So I wonder, How much pain, anger, frustration, sadness, and hopelessness do we cause ourselves because we are unwilling to allow people to have their imperfections. We fight to make people part of our tribe. We do not help and we actually cause ourselves more pain and confusion because we are not helping those who need us. When we are unable to let go of our need to be “right” and allow God to work in their lives as God sees fit. When we have to be right we are far from perfection ourselves. We are angry, upset, sad, frustrated. This is far from the perfection of love, beauty, hope, compassion, abundance, and kindness set for our by Jesus. In our refusal to let go and allow imperfections to be a part of ourselves and others, we are actually causing ourselves and others more pain. We are forgoing any peace and joy that is being offered to us by God.
Imagine if we could let go and allow other people to be the imperfect people they are how much better we would feel, they would feel, and the world would feel. Imagine a world where you just give away kindness, love, hope, joy, peace, and life. Imagine how your day would go if you could just give up the frustrations with others imperfections. No more worries about how someone is driving in the traffic. No more frustrations at the person who you think should be thanking you for something. No more anger at your spouse for not remembering what you thought they should remember. No more sadness that your child has not followed all directions and made a mistake. No more worry when a person in front of you in a line takes longer than you want because they cannot find something. It is all imperfection. Our imperfections bother other people around us and we are never aware. They stand behind us in line and get frustrated. They drive behind us in traffic and wish we would go faster. They wished we would have heard the directions and followed them. They wished we would have thanked them for something. We need to realize that we are all cookie thieves. I have put this here before but I need the reminder today:

A woman was waiting at the airport one night, With several long hours before her flight.

She hunted for a book in the airport shop, Bought a bag of cookies and found a place to drop.

She was engrossed in her book, but happened to see,

That the man beside her, as bold as could be, Grabbed a cookie or two from the bag between, Which she tried to ignore to avoid a scene

She read, munched cookies, and watched the clock,

As the gustly "cookie thief" diminished her stock.

She was getting more irritated as the minutes ticked by,

Thinking, "If I wasn't so nice, I'd blacken his eye!"

With each cookie she took, he took one too.

When only one was left, she wondered what he'd do.

With a smile on his face and a nervous laugh, He took the last cookie and broke it in half.

He offered her half, and he ate the other. She snatched it from him and thought, "Oh brother, This guy has some nerve, and he's also so rude, Why, he didn't even show any gratitude!"

She had never known when she had been so galled,

And sighed with relief when her flight was called.

She gathered her belongings and headed for the gate,

Refusing to look at the "thieving ingrate".

She boarded the plane and sank in her seat, Then sought her book, which was almost complete. As she reached in her baggage, she gasped with surprise.

There were her bag of cookies in front of her eyes! "If mine are here," she moaned with despair. "Then the others were his and he tried to share!"

Too late to apologize, she realized with grief,

That she was the rude one, the ingrate, the thief!!!!

Today remember not to be the cookie thief. We all have imperfections.

Namaste'

Urgency

"I believe that the greatest trick of the devil is not to get us into some sort of evil but rather have us wasting time." This line stuck out at me tonight as I read "Blue Like Jazz." I started thinking how true this is. We worry so much about the evil that we, or others, may do that we waste our time in ways that are really meaningless. We spend our time protesting the ills of society, the choices that people make, the things we think need to be changed, and all the time the real thing that needs to change we never look at.

We can't afford to waste a minute, must not squander these precious daylight hours in frivolity and indulgence, in sleeping around and dissipation, in bickering and grabbing everything in sight. Get out of bed and get dressed! Don't loiter and linger, waiting until the very last minute. Dress yourselves in Christ, and be up and about!

Romans 13:11

What should we be up and about doing? We should be up and about changing our hearts. We are sleeping and involved in frivolity and indulgence when we are worried about everyone else's heart but our own. We forget that we are just as capable of sin as any other human being in the world is. We get caught up in being "religious" and we waste time in the habit of selfishness and our heart cannot engage with God.

As the Ruin Falls

All this is flashy rhetoric about loving you.

I never had a selfless thought since I was born.

I am mercenary and self-seeking through and through:

I want God, you, all friends, merely to serve my turn.

Peace, re-assurance, pleasure, are the goals I seek,

I cannot crawl one inch outside my proper skin:

I talk of love --a scholar's parrot may talk Greek--

But, self-imprisoned, always end where I begin.

Only that now you have taught me (but how late) my lack.

I see the chasm. And everything you are was making

My heart into a bridge by which I might get back

From exile, and grow man. And now the bridge is breaking.

For this I bless you as the ruin falls.

The pains You give me are more precious than all other gains.

C.S. Lewis

We say we love, but do we really? We say that we are involved in the urgency of God's work, but are we really? Noting changes until we become urgent about changing the person we see in the mirror every morning.

Namaste'